For MikoChiyo Week
by splendidandfleetingasabubble
Summary: A series of loosely connected one-shots for MikoChiyo Week (Day 7 might get nsfw). UPDATE: Day 5 - Dates/Conversations
1. Day 1: HeroinePrincess

"Mikoto-kun!" Mikoto froze, mustering all the bravado he could before turning around to face Akemi Amori, one of the more popular girls in the school. Sakura, whose rant to Mikoto about the misuse of art supplies in the Art Club was interrupted by this girl, shook her head and sighed. She could see where this was going.

"Ah, what a pleasure it is to be graced by the presence of a beauty like you!" Mikoto proclaimed, with a smile worthy of a shoujo manga cover illustration.

 _Give me a break_ , Sakura thought, mentally counting down how many seconds Mikoto had before he would become too flustered to flirt. "Hello, Akemi," she muttered, but Akemi ignored her.

"Aw, you're such a sweetheart, Mikoto-kun! You're still coming over today to help me bake treats for the Music Club, right?"

"Of course, how could I refuse to help a lady in need?"

"What a smooth talker you are!" Akemi laughed lightly, then stood up on her tiptoes and quickly kissed his cheek. "Then it's date," she whispered, winking.

Mikoto's mouth fell open. "A d-d-d-date?" The color in his cheeks rivaled the red of his hair.

"Oh, what's this? Lost your silver tongue?" Mikoto tried to respond, but the circuits between his brain and his mouth were fried, and he couldn't speak. Akemi was cute, and everyone in the school expected them to get together, but it was too much pressure, he would never last, and now he that he had confirmed he was coming over, he couldn't come up with any last minute excuses and _oh my God what I am going to do about this now, she's going to expect me to be this charming knight in shining armor and_ \- His racing thoughts were interrupted by a loud thud from behind. He whipped around and saw Sakura laying on the ground, unconscious. "O-oh no! She passed out!"

"Someone get the nurse!" a nearby student called out.

Sakura needed help, but Mikoto had to get out of there, and fast. A horrible idea formed in his mind… He quickly looped one arm under her legs and the other under her back. "There's n-no time! I'll t-take her to the nurse's office!" Picking up someone who had just fainted probably wasn't the proper thing to do, but Mikoto needed to get away from Akemi (who stood by looking completely impassive). Helping Sakura was the perfect opportunity, even though it was a little selfish… Okay, extremely selfish.

"The hospital," Sakura whispered, barely audible. Mikoto jumped and nearly dropped her back on the floor. "The hospital!" she whispered again, more forcefully this time. "The hospital takes longer!"

He realized she had faked her collapse onto the floor for his sake, and he grinned to himself for a moment, feeling both relief that she was alright and guilt for wanting to take advantage of the spectacle, then declared, "I think she hit her head! I'm taking her to the hospital! Everyone, move out of the way, this is an emergency!"

 _Does he have to be so dramatic?_ Sakura internally rolled her eyes. But the diversion worked, and Mikoto left Akemi behind, navigating through the confused students and barely managing to run to a secluded grove on the campus before dropping Sakura roughly on the ground. "Ow!"

"Sorry… you're… heavier than I thought," he panted.

Sakura sat up and smacked his leg. "You don't say that to a girl."

"I… yeah." Once he caught his breath, he looked over his shoulder back at the school. "I don't think anyone saw us go here."

"After your horrible acting, I don't think anyone really believes you're taking me to the hospital. No one's going to try to follow us there."

"Hey, now, Hori-san thought I was perfect when I helped Yuu-san practice her lines as the prince!"

"He just didn't want to hurt your feelings!"

Mikoto sat down next to Sakura, laughing, then he paused and said, "Thanks for getting me out of a date with Akemi. If I'd known she was going to say that, I wouldn't have agreed to come over in the first place."

"You probably still would have, since you're too caught up in flirting to realize what you say sometimes." She played with a few blades of grass at her fingertips before turning towards him and smiling. "But you're welcome. You know I'll always be there for you."

Mikoto didn't expect his heart to skip a beat at those words, but he felt like he had just slammed into a brick wall. He had always found Sakura to be attractive, but in this moment… the two of them, alone in the grove… the wisps of orange hair waving gently in the breeze, the fiery violet in her eyes that contrasted with the soft pink of her lips… Sakura chuckled uncomfortably, feeling a bit unnerved under his gaze. "Wh-what is it?"

"I… um…" Mikoto didn't finish his sentence, but instead reached out to straighten one of the ribbons in her hair that had been moved out of place when he had plopped her on the ground. His hand started to trail down to her cheek, but he pulled away suddenly and sat on top of his hands.

"Haha… thanks…" Sakura stood up and laughed a bit more, trying to dispel the lingering awkwardness. _Was that my imagination or was he about to kiss me?_ "Um… I guess I'll head home now. See you around, okay? Just tell Akemi you're at the hospital with me and don't want to leave me alone."

"Okay." Mikoto murmured, trying fruitlessly to hide his face behind his long bangs so she couldn't see the inevitable blush that would begin creeping up his cheeks any moment now. Once she had walked a bit away, he couldn't help but look up to watch the sway of her hips. Like her other features, it was something he liked that he had already noticed before, but he had kept it on the periphery of his awareness until now. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, thinking that the voluptuous figures he kept at home lacked the charm and grace of his _**heroine**_.

 **Postscript:** I addressed this in an author's note in one of the later chapters (a note that I'll delete later), but I confused myself with some of the high school years of the characters (which is funny to me because I literally stared at the wiki pages for hours RIP), so for the sake of convenience, just pretend that Sakura and Seo are in the same class as Wakamatsu. This chapter is intended to take place during Sakura's second year/Mikoto's third year.


	2. Day 2: SummerSecrets

Sakura sat on top of a pile of unpacked boxes. "You weren't kidding when you said your place was messy."

"It's still a work in progress."

"Is it exciting to have your own place?"

"Of course, but-"

"Mikorin, still worried about being alone in the dark?"

"N-no!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow at his unconvincing reply. "Then let's try it out!" She hopped off the boxes and reached out towards the light switch on the wall, but he grabbed her wrist.

"Are you really still going on about that?"

"Well, people are still going on about my 'concussion' a few months ago. Seo-chan thought I was hallucinating when I told her I finally scored a date with Nozaki-kun!"

Mikoto let go of Sakura's wrist and forced a laugh. "I thought that too!"

She stamped her foot. "You knew from the beginning it was fake! But I guess I wouldn't have believed me either. I mean, when you pine after someone so oblivious for so long…"

 _I know the feeling_. But Mikoto nodded, trying his best to be earnestly happy for his friend. "How are you and Nozaki-san by the way?"

Sakura exhaled from the corner of her mouth, the puff of air bouncing her orange bangs to the side. "As you can probably imagine, he's still a dolt. The other day, I got a bad score on a practice entrance exam and my parents chewed me out, but he thought I was just upset because it was raining and cold."

"I… wow."

"Yeah. Anyways, since he's not going to a local university like you, it's… well, it's different."

For a brief moment, he wanted to pull out his hair. _I'm right here_ , he wanted to shout. _I'd wipe your tears away when you cry, I'd cook you food when you get hungry, I could make you so happy, if only you noticed me_. But she loved Nozaki, and who was he to tell her who she could and couldn't date? So he forced another smile and tried to offer some genuine advice. "Maybe you guys could video chat or something? I mean, I know he's completely inept with social media, but if you push him to get Line or something…"

"It's funny, isn't it? He has a Twitter set up for _Let's Fall in Love_ , but doesn't have anything for himself."

Seeing that their line of conversation was putting Sakura in a dejected mood, Mikoto quickly changed the subject. "Hey, you came over to swim and not for couples therapy, right? Let's get changed!"

"Yeah! Where's your restroom?"

"Through this door!" Mikoto opened the door and suddenly stopped, almost causing Sakura to bump into him. _Shit, I forgot to put away the_ -

"What is- Oh, what's this?" Sakura ducked under his outstretched arm and darted to the magazine lying on the sink. " ' _Seventeen_ 's 10 Ways to Get Noticed by Your Crush!' Is there someone who's got your eye, Mikorin?"

Mikoto panicked and resorted to his default defense mechanism. He put an arm on the wall and leaned towards Sakura, brandishing his most flirtatious smirk. "The only one I've got my eye on is y-y-y-" He couldn't say it, not when it was true! He coughed and tried covering his blushing cheeks. Thankfully, Sakura was too doubled over in laughter to notice anything that was amiss.

"Only you would go to a teen girl's magazine for dating advice!"

"Ahaha… you know me…" Sakura could say whatever she wanted about his acting, but he was pretty good at playing the part of the not-heartbroken friend. "C'mon, let's just get changed already." Mikoto left her behind in the restroom (though he could still here her laughter in his bedroom), slipped into his swimming shorts, and looked in the mirror. Why was he so nervous? After the catastrophe that was their beach trip where she nearly saw him naked, why was wearing a swimsuit such a big deal now? But of course, the answer was this time, there was someone he wanted impress... except he was feeling extremely self-conscious as he flexed his lean muscles in front of the mirror. A knock on the door startled him.

"Mikorin, you almost ready?"

"Y-yeah!" he called out, wincing at the crack in his voice. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his neck to cover his chest, looked for a pair of sunglasses that matched his lucky earrings, and then opened the door.

 _Oh. My. God._ With the video games he played, he encountered the nose-bleeding trope often, and seeing Sakura standing in the doorway of his bedroom wearing a black bikini that showed off the curves of her body nearly sent him reeling back with a stream of blood from his nostrils.

Sakura mistook his reaction as embarrassment. "Just put a shirt on if you're uncomfortable."

"Put a shirt- You should- Me, uncomf- what?" He stammered.

"Oh, whatever. The pool closes in an hour, let's go!" She grabbed his wrist and pulled him out of the apartment. "You got the key?"

"Key? Me? Yes. The key. I have the key. To the apartment. And the pool. The pool key. The key to-"

"Okay."

As he followed her down the stairs to the pool, Mikoto tried looking everywhere but well-defined butt. He was really stupid for not thinking through inviting her over for swimming. This was only made clearer to Mikoto when they walked through the gate to the pool and saw a couple playing in the pool together. Bouts of splashing each other were followed by intimate embraces that made his heart hurt. He wanted to hold Sakura like that, feel her skin against his as she nestled her cheek onto his shoulder, kiss her hair absentmindedly as she pressed against him and-

"MIKOTO!"

"AAAAAAAAAAA!" Mikoto yelled as he was suddenly pushed into the pool, towel still around his neck and shoes on his feet. He surfaced, grumbling, wanting to see who it was that had accosted him. It was his obnoxious next-door neighbor, Hiroshi.

"Hey, man! What's up?"

Mikoto glowered, but didn't respond, climbing slowly out of the pool and dropping his soaking wet towel on a lounge chair. Seeing that Mikoto was less than enthused to see this person, Sakura decided it was okay to step in and say, "You probably should have waited until he took his towel off before pushing him into the pool."

"Oi, Mikoto, who's this feisty little beauty?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose and turned around. "Chiyo Sakura, an old classmate from Roman Academy."

"She your girlfriend?"

"No," Sakura answered for him.

"Not yet, at least!" Hiroshi winked. "Watch out for this one, he's a total flirt."

"I… You don't know him very well at all, do you?"

But Hiroshi didn't hear her. "Well, I was about to head out anyway. Have fun! And good luck with her, Mikoto!"

Mikoto wanted to curl up in ball on the concrete and dry up in the sun. Is this how Sakura felt during all her escapades with Nozaki before they started dating?

"Who's that guy?"

"That's my neighbor. He's, uh, quite the character."

"He kinda reminds me of Seo-chan, but with even less tact."

"You said it," he muttered.

But after few minutes of messing around in the pool with Sakura, his bad mood had evaporated. Even his initial embarrassment was gone. It was just fun to watch her smile as she thwarted his attempts to get her hair wet.

"Stop, stop! I washed my hair this morning, and I don't want to wash it again!"

"Oh, come on, you can just use my shower after me."

"And wait an hour for you finish your post-shower beauty routine? I don't think so!"

"It doesn't take an hour!"

"It so does! But I guess I could always read your magazine to pass the time and-" she stopped, realizing that Mikoto had trapped her in a corner. "Don't do it! Don't you dare do it!" She tried to sound forceful, but couldn't help giggling at the end.

"I won't. On one condition." He put his arms on the pool ledge on either side of her. She felt a strange thrill at this, but ignored it. "You can't tease me anymore about being afraid of the dark."

"Hmm…" She put her hand on her chin, pretending she was thinking. "Nope. Not worth it- EEEEE!" She shrieked as he tackled her into the water. When they finally surfaced, she collapsed against him, laughing. "That's not fair, you know how much fun it is to tease you!" Then she became suddenly and acutely aware that he was still holding her and her arms were still wrapped around his neck. Her mind flickered to the deliberately forgotten memory of the time in the grove when she was sure he was about to kiss her. But she had a boyfriend now, this was getting inappropriate. She hopped away and turned around, placing her wet ribbons on the poolside.

"Sorry about that. I probably should have let you take those off first," he said, joining her at the poolside and wiping his wet bangs out of his eyes (and showing off his physique).

Sakura was surprised to find that she was the one now blushing and at a loss for words. "I-it's no big deal. Don't worry about it. Um…" She looked over her shoulder, pretending that something behind her had caught her interest until she could think of a way to pivot the conversation. "So, uh, business major, huh?"

Mikoto was barely paying attention as he answered her various little questions, too excited about how he did get to hold her in his arms after all to give anything else much thought. And it felt so natural and so right that he didn't even get flustered. But a scary idea popped into his head. As much as he wanted to support her relationship with Nozaki, he wasn't sure how long he could keep his feelings a _**secret**_.

 **Postscript:** I always feel that these chapters are kinda rushed, but they're one-shots, what are you going to do. Actually, are they even one-shots? They're becoming very cohesive as of late... But huge gaps occur between chapters... Whatever, haha. Anyways, this chapter was fun to write, I really like the idea of Mikoto holding Sakura as they meander around the pool because I'm cheesy af.


	3. Day 3: DistanceTime

**A/N:** So sorry about the delay! I plan on catching up later today though, so no worries, I will definitely write these one-shots for every MikoChiyo Day!

"So which one's your type?" Mikoto asked as he handed his phone over to Hiroshi, his next door neighbor. Hiroshi flipped through pictures of the girls from the latest dating sim game craze.

"Definitely the athlete! It'd be fun to have pretty girl to do my morning run with. What about you?"  
Mikoto frowned. "Honestly, none of them really stand out to me." For the past few months, he had become less and less interested in what used to be his favorite hobby. Even the Yazawa Nico figure that he had thought was a bargain at the time now seemed like a waste.

"Wait, really? What about this one, she's got big tits!"

For a brief moment, Mikoto wondered what cup size Sakura was, but he quickly pushed the thought out of his head. "I don't know, it's just that…" _None of them are real like her_.

"Just what?"

"Nothing, I just need to start working on my paper soon." He didn't really have a paper to write, he just wanted Hiroshi to leave.

"Yeah, I have two job applications to finish. I guess I'll see you around then."

As soon as Hiroshi left, Mikoto leaned on his apartment door and slid down to the floor. When he felt lonely, he would invite Hiroshi over, but his annoying neighbor always made him feel more frustrated and exhausted in the end.

His phone buzzed in his pants pocket. He was expecting it to be a text from Hiroshi about the girls they had looked at, but he was delighted to see it was a message from Sakura. He hadn't heard from her in a few days.

"Just got out of cram school and now I'm waiting for the train :l Keep me entertained?"

He smiled to himself. "Sure! What do you think about me getting a lip ring?"

":'D You're not serious, are you?"

"What if I was?"

"You aren't!"

"What if I got a tattoo?"

"You're too afraid of needles to get one!"

"But if I wasn't what kind of tattoo do you think I'd get?"

"Maybe a few pretty flowers?"

"Flowers? Really? Not some edgy dragon?"

"You are not edgy! At all!"

"Rude :P"

A few minutes passed by without a response from Sakura. Figuring the train had probably arrived at the station and that she wouldn't type a reply until she settled in at home, he decided to whip up a quick dinner. Unlike many of his classmates who would have prepared a healthy and well-thought out meal, Mikoto microwaved a pre-packaged ramen noodle cup and sat down in front of the small TV in makeshift living room. He watched a few reruns of _Hana-Kimi_ until a commercial featuring a few characters from _Bakuman_ appeared. Although he had tried to rise above the petty jealousy he felt towards Nozaki, he still found himself unable to deal with anything related to making manga, unable to forget the day he posed for Sakura's art club where she had asked to him mimic Nozaki working on a manuscript.  
Grumbling, he turned off the TV, curled into a few blankets, and checked his phone. Still no response from Sakura. He reread and reread their text conversation, chuckling at her lighthearted jabs each time.

Eventually, he found himself feeling bored again, and he perused his large video game collection, skipping over the many dating sim titles and choosing an old _Fire Emblem_ game. Just when he had finished plugging up his GameCube, his phone started ringing. Seeing that it was Sakura who was calling, he dove for his phone and answered it.

"Hello?" he said, voice slightly muffled by the pile of blankets he was laying on. No answer. "Ready to see my new dragon tattoo?" he joked.

After a few more seconds of silence, he heard what sounded like a sharp inhale, then "M-Mikoto, I…"

 _Uh oh_. Sakura hardly ever called him by his real name. He sat up from the blankets and turned on a nearby lamp. "Is everything okay?"

"I lied to you, I didn't go to cram school today. I skipped."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "O-oh, um… Don't worry about it, I hope that's not why you're… well, it sounds like you're crying. Are you crying?"

"Maybe a little… I'm… Okay, maybe a lot." She let out a strange noise that sounded like both a chuckle and a sob.

"Shh, it's okay. Do you need me to come over?"

"No, it's fine, I just need to talk to someone."

"Are you sure?" Mikoto checked his watch. "There's a Mister Donut nearby that's still open, I can grab the pon de rings you like and bring them over."

"That sounds kind of good actually. My parents are going to bed early… Can I meet you at the train station?"

"Sure. I'll be there soon."

...

Mikoto scanned the train station, searching for Sakura. The weather was colder than he thought it would be, and he wished he had worn a thicker scarf. When he finally found her sitting outside the train station on a bench, he barely recognized her. Her bright orange hair had been stuffed under a hood, and remnants of makeup were smeared across her cheeks. The baggy sweatpants she was wearing seemed at least 2 sizes too big.

"S-Sakura?"

"Mikoto!" She jumped up and hugged him, burying her sobs in his chest. He fought away his shyness and hugged her tightly.

"Shhhhh. It's okay. I'm here now." He rubbed her back gently until she had calmed down a bit, then he pulled away and gestured for her to sit down, checking to see if anyone was nearby before offering her the bag of donuts. "They had a donut shaped like a bow. I thought you think it was cute, so I got some of those too. And don't worry about paying me back, it's my treat."

She wiped her eyes and smiled. "Th-thank you."

"Of course. So… what's going on?"

Sakura reached into the bag and pulled out one of the bow donuts. After examining it in silence for a moment, she sighed. "It's a long story. Well… not really, I guess, I just…"

"It's okay. Go on."

"After school ended, I called Nozaki-k… Nozaki about the double date we were going to have with Seo-chan and Hiro-kun, but he said he had completely forgotten it and had already scheduled a meeting with Ken-san during the time we were supposed to see them. But I told him we had already postponed it twice because he kept forgetting about it, but he didn't think it was a big deal. I mean, it's not a big deal, but I was just really hoping to see him this weekend because he's always busy with his art and whenever I tell him that, he says I could come and help him like old times, but I want to spend real quality time with him, and he doesn't seem to understand that." She paused, fighting back a wave of sobs. "It was just… one thing led to another, like we went from asking about each other's day to fighting and then he- he- he said we should slow things down, and I asked what that meant and-" She never finished her sentence, but Mikoto could guess what happened.

"It sounds like you were more serious about things than he was."

Sakura nodded. "I knew we weren't exactly on the same page, but I just… It was so stupid! I don't want to lose him over something so stupid!"

Mikoto frowned, trying to determine if the words he wanted to say came from someone more interested in taking advantage of an opportunity rather than a genuine friend. "In, uh, in my opinion, I don't think it was that simple. If you want a serious relationship but he's not ready for one, I think… I don't know that there's a nice way to say this, but… You can't give him what he wants. Right now, at least." He wanted to slap himself when Sakura burst into another fit of tears. "I shouldn't have said, anything, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, I- Wow, I'm so dumb. I'm-"

"No, y-you're right. You're right, it just… hurts."

Unsure of what to say in response, Mikoto took a bite of his donut. A cold gust of wind blew by and he shivered.

"Oh, you must be freezing! Here, take my hoodie."

"No, that's fine-"

"It's okay, I'm wearing a giant sweatshirt underneath."

"I- okay." Sakura took her hoodie off and handed it Mikoto. He couldn't help but sniff it before he put it on. It smelled like the citrus shampoo she used that he loved.

After enjoying the newfound warmth for a few seconds, he turned back to her and saw that she was staring at her bow donut again, smiling softly."It really is a cute donut."

"Aw, come here." Mikoto wrapped his arms around her and brought her head to his chest.

"Thank you, Mikoto. For everything," she murmured as a tear ran down her cheek.

Without even thinking, he leaned down and pressed a small kiss to her head, then pulled back quickly. But thank all the gods in the world that she didn't seem to notice it. Or, at least, if she did notice it, she didn't say anything.

As she began to cry out every last tear she had, Mikoto thought that only she could look still so beautiful in disheveled clothes with mascara running down her face. As much as he wanted to tell her that the one she was looking for was right in front of her, he knew it would be wrong to make a move now. Her heart was broken - something that could only be healed with **_time_**.

 **Postscript:** I hope this didn't come off as Nozaki/Sakura hate because that ship is really cute too! I just happen to like MikoChiyo more :3c I didn't intend for this chapter to be saturated with Japanese culture references, but it just kinda happened. When I think of living in the USA, there are a lot of aspects of day-to-day life that I wouldn't give much thought to that are probably really unique to Americans, so I tried applying the same concept here. I want the reader to really understand that there's an entirely different culture at work here. I hope it these references don't seem ignorant, and they do come off that way, let me know.


	4. Day 4: HabitsQuirks

**A/N:** If you haven't noticed already, I kinda confused myself with everyone's year in high school, so for the sake of convenience, just pretend that Seo and Sakura are in the same year as Wakamatsu. And the first chapter was intended to take place during Sakura's second year/Mikoto's third year.

"Oi, Mikoto!" Yuu yelled, letting go of Hori's hand to wave wildly. While Mikoto and Hori were dressed for the cold weather, Yuu was wearing an odd combination of man's ski jacket and boots with a lacy miniskirt.

"Hey, you guys finally made it!" Mikoto greeted Yuu and Hori, then gestured towards the simple stools set up outside of the ramen cart they were meeting at. "Hiroshi, these are some friends from Roman Academy, Kashima Yuu and Masayaki Hori."

"Nice to meet you!" Hiroshi called out from the cart as he moved from cooking station to cooking station in the blink of an eye.

"Likewise!" replied Yuu and Hori in unison.

Mikoto and Hori settled in their seats, but Yuu remained standing. Mikoto shot her a quizzical look and Hori sighed. "She doesn't want to sit down because I'm taller than her when I sit on this stool."

"It's okay, Hori, no need to be embarrassed!"

"I'm not embarrassed! Just sit down."

"Ugh. If you say so."

"Really, you try too hard to impress me."

"Is that why she's wearing the short skirt in the middle of winter?" Mikoto chimed in. "Because of your leg kink?"

"Only reason why I haven't dumped her yet."

"That's not true!" Yuu's hand snaked up Hori's leg, and he kissed her cheek in response.

"Hmm, maybe there are some other perks…"

Mikoto looked away, feeling like the third wheel like he expected he would be when he arranged their meetup.

"Get a load of them, huh?" Hiroshi remarked, placing three steaming bowls of ramen in front of them.

"I ordered shio ramen for all of us, I hope that's okay."

Hori and Yuu pulled away from each other. "Yeah, that's fine!"

Their conversation reached a lull as the three of them busied themselves with eating their ramen. As annoying as Hiroshi could be sometimes, he really made a mean dish… Mikoto was somewhat glad that his neighbor had given up his job hunt and settled for helping out at his uncle's yatai.

"Hey! Hey, Mikoto look!" Hiroshi pointed at a girl across the street that was jogging by, her ponytail bouncing from side to side with each step she took. "That's the girl I was telling you about the other day!"

Mikoto and Hori turned to look at the girl. "That's Akemi-san. Haven't seen her in a while."

Hiroshi stared at Hori in disbelief. "You know her?"

"Yeah, she was in Mikoto's class at Roman Academy."

"Damn, it seems like everyone interesting went there. I missed out. But Akemi, huh? I see her run down that street every day, rain or shine. Dedicated to staying fit. My type of girl."

Mikoto frowned and stared at his food. It was after his close call with Akemi that he realized he had feelings for Sakura. A few weeks had passed since her break-up with Nozaki, but if she still had feelings for him, his situation hadn't improved at all.

"Mami- er, Mikoto, what's got you looking so glum?"

"I know that look! He's love sick!"

Yuu glanced between Hori and Hiroshi before breaking out into a wide grin. "Mikoto, you really are lovesick! Tell me!"

"I'd… rather not." Mikoto hoped that the growing redness of his cheeks could be passed off as being caused by the cold weather.

"C'mon! We made a pact once we ended our rivalry to help each other out with _matters of the heart_!" She ended her sentence with a comical tone that made Hori cringe. "You gotta tell me!"

"Well, you did set me up with Yuu, the least we could do is return the favor."

"I…"

Hiroshi chuckled. "It's that orange-haired girl that's been hanging around your apartment, isn't it? What was her name? Chiyo something?"

Both Hori and Yuu slowly turned to face Mikoto, mouths hanging open. Mikoto glanced sideways at them and pulled his scarf over his cheeks.

"How long? How long have you liked her?"

"Listen, Yuu-"

"I heard that's she no longer dating Nozaki-san! The timing is ripe!"

"I- No, it's not!" Mikoto placed his chopsticks down and ran his fingers through his hair. "It's not ripe, the timing couldn't be worse! She just had her heart broken, and I'm supposed to just swoop in and save the day? I don't want to be her rebound. But none of it matters, not if she doesn't feel the same."

Hori and Yuu exchanged a look. They hadn't seen Mikoto this worked up in a long time. Finally, Yuu nodded at Hori, and he began to speak. "Well, I might have an opportunity for you to find out."

"What do you mean?"

"I wrote a musical with some classmates for an intensive drama class at university. Someone in the drama club at Roman Academy came across it, and they wanted to put on a production of it, albeit pretty low-budget. Anyways, I've been working with the club sponsor to direct it, but I've been too busy to make the backdrops like I used to, so I got Sakura and the art club to make some. Maybe you could help her out. It would give you a lot of one-on-one time with her."

"I… I don't know."

"C'mon, man!" Hiroshi reached over the counter and gave Mikoto an encouraging shove. "Never let an opportunity to get the girl pass! Speaking of which… One of these days, you gotta introduce me to that Akemi girl!"

Mikoto nodded. He was right.

Actors clamoring, tools dropping, and directors bickering all gave Mikoto a sense of nostalgia as he walked into the drama club's practice studio. No sooner had he placed his bag in a chair than Sakura ran up to greet him with a hug. "Mikorin, I'm so glad you could make it!"

Seo stood behind her and waved. It made sense that the choir club's star would be present since the musical revolved around a singer in the post-WWII era seeking to mesh traditional Japanese drama with more modern elements of theatre.

"Yeah, it's nice to have the old gang back together!"

"Here, let me show you some of the backdrops I'm working on." Sakura guided him to a corner of the studio occupied by art students hunching over large banners. "Hori-san assigned these two to me. And they're the hardest ones, of course. But at least he sketched some rough outlines for me." She pointed to a backdrop that featured an outdoors scene with numerous cherry blossom trees and another one that looked like an elaborate kabuki stage.

"Yeah, I can definitely help with this."

"Hey, guys!" Hori walked over and put a hand on Mikoto's shoulder. "I think the choreographer wants to use the studio space for a while."

"What?" Sakura crossed her arms. "But I'm already behind on making these. We already have all of our art supplies out. And I thought you said it was okay to work here today since the art club room is being renovated!"

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. But Seo-san dances like she has two left feet, so the choreographer is really insistent upon getting a lot of practice in today. Maybe you can take that home and work on it with Mikoto there?"

"I… guess."

"Perfect! Thanks for the hard work, Sakura!" As he turned around, he muttered in a low voice that only Mikoto could hear, "Go get her, tiger."

"I'm home!" Sakura called out as she stepped inside and took off her shoes.

"You're home early. Oh, Mikoto! How nice to see you!"

Mikoto tried to bow in greeting to Sakura's mother while carrying the two backdrops rolled up in his arms, but one fell out of his hands and unrolled on the floor.

"No need to be so formal! Here, let me help with that!" Sakura and her mother carried the unrolled backdrop to her bedroom, and Mikoto followed behind them. "Mikoto, I would ask you questions upon questions about unversity, but it looks like you two have your hands full with Hori-san's project! If you take a break, let me know, and I'll brew some tea for you!"

"Thanks, Mom!"

Mikoto let out the air he had been holding in after Sakura's mother left. He had visited her home before, but he felt rather flustered this time. Because of Sakura, of course. "Alright. So what can I help you with?"

"I was thinking you could finish up the line work for the cherry blossoms, and I could color them in after."

"Sounds good to me."

After a long period of diligent work, Mikoto decided to ask the question that had been burning in his mind for a while. "So… have you spoken to Nozaki-san?"

Sakura sighed, but didn't look up. "Yeah. I have, actually. And to be honest, I feel better about things. Well, sometimes I still feel sad about it, but I think I was just too excited for myself to consider his perspective on things, and when the inevitable happened… I remember you basically saying that the timing wasn't right, but I think… timing's not the issue. I don't think we're right for each other, period. But I was just too blinded by the so-called 'love goggles' that I didn't notice it."

"You kind of sound like you think it's your fault."

"I think it's fair to say at least part of it is."

"Maybe…" Mikoto wondered if the same idea applied to him. What if he was too attached to Sakura to realize they weren't a good fit together?

But Sakura stopped his train of thought by saying, "We've been working for a while now. Maybe we should take that tea break?"

"Sure!"

A few cups of tea later, the heavy mood in the room was gone. Sakura had discovered that his phone's wallpaper was a selfie they had taken together (something he hadn't intended her to see), and she was teasing him about how he had never noticed Seo making a funny face in the background until she had pointed it out.

"She's waving her arms around and everything! How could you not see it? Were you just too focused on me?"

Mikoto let out an uncomfortable chuckle. She had hit the nail on the head. Knowing that he couldn't use his flirty one-liners with her, he hurriedly tried think of something to say until Sakura continued with a another jab. "You know, at least this was better than I thought it would be. I was expecting your wallpaper to be one of your waifus like Konata-chan."

"Um, for the record, I have never used the word 'waifu,' and if I did, I would use that for someone more like Makisu Kurisu-"

"Not one of the girls from the latest dating sim you bought?"

"They're not… I don't know, I don't really like them as much."

"Really? Show me their pictures!" Sakura sidled next to Mikoto, accidentally touching her arm against his. But his touch felt inviting, and she found herself not wanting to pull away.

He blushed slightly, but managed to explain his opinions on some of the girls without stuttering. "You see, this one is named Kyoko, but she's just the stereotypical shy girl that clams up whenever you try to talk to her. And this is Itsumi. Way too much of a tsundere for me, always ending each sentence with an insult like 'idiot.' Ayako is that one. She's gets super jealous if you talk to other girls. None of them are original. I feel like I'm playing the same game over again."

"If they're not your type, then what is your type?"

"Uhhhhh….." Sakura smiled innocently, but in truth, she liked how easily she could get Mikoto flustered. It confirmed that she hadn't imagined the kiss on her head he gave her.

"Hmm, maybe someone with orange hair? Purple eyes? A passion for collecting ribbons?"

"I… Wh-what?" He ran his fingers through his hair multiple times as he tried to regain his composure.

"I'm just messing with you! You're so silly, Mikorin!" Sakura leaned against him as she laughed, finding herself almost desperate for his warmth. She was beginning to feel a little out of control of herself. "Here, let's look up some cute actresses!" She took his phone from him, lingering her hand on his a bit too long. By this point, Mikoto was rendered completely mute in embarrassment. "Look at Inoue Mao, everyone loves her-" She stopped as a text notification popped up on the screen. "O-Oh! Um. You got a text. Here you go." Sakura handed Mikoto's phone back to him, trying to play it off like she hadn't read it.

It had been a message from Yuu that said, "Hori-kun told me he was able to get you some alone time with Sakura-chan! If it goes well, maybe you can take her to the play for a date!"

When Mikoto read the text, he dropped the phone in horror. _Did she see it?_ Her reaction had seemed a bit off, but maybe that was all of her flirting catching up to her. He quickly picked up his phone and put it back in his pocket. "Thanks. Let's, uh, get back to work."

"Okay." Sakura picked up a brush, but then promptly put it down. "You know what, I'm sorry. I can't pretend I didn't see that text. And I can't pretend to be unaware of your feelings for me anymore." Mikoto swallowed. He figured that he'd have to confess it to her at some point, but not like this, not when it was out of his control. "Well?"

He took a deep breath and looked up. He was determined to maintain eye contact with her and not stare at the floor. "You're right. I do like you. As more than a friend. I think you're kind and funny and talented and… beautiful. Even on the day that Noza- on the day we met at the train station and ate those bow-shaped donuts together, I never thought for a second you looked like a mess. And I… thought about this for a long time, and even now I'm still unsure, but… I don't think Nozaki is right for you. I'm not certain if I'm right for you, but I want to give it a try because… I do think I am right for you."

Sakura smiled, thinking of how Mikoto always responded to her texts when Nozaki didn't, how Mikoto knew what her favorite foods are when Nozaki didn't, how Mikoto dropped everything to be at her side when Nozaki didn't. "I know. I'm just… sorry it took me so long to realize it."

"A-are you saying…"

"I'd like to give it a try too."

All of the pent-up embarrassment from his gushing manifested at once, and Mikoto barely registered the sound of Sakura laughing as he buried his flushed face in his hands. If this was really happening, if it really wasn't a dream, he was going to need to find a way to break these **_habits_**.

 **Postscript:** Eh, I kinda feel like this was rushed, but tomorrow is Dates/Conversations, so I had to make some magic happen. Also, I can't resist sprinkling in a little Hori/Yuu, though I think they may have been a bit OOC. RIP for it being the longest chapter, not sure that this was my best quality of work, and I feel like MikoCHiyo deserves my best as cheesy as that sounds. Oh, well. Enough "negativity," I'm honestly really excited for Day 5!


	5. Day 5: DatesConversations

**A/N:** Thanks for bearing with me here! I'm taking a pretty intensive class this summer, and as much as I love MikoChiyo, I do need to use my time wisely. I'll try to write the remaining two chapters in a reasonable period of time! Again, thanks for your patience!

After the near-debacle turned miracle that had occurred a little over a week ago, both Sakura and Mikoto had been too busy with finishing the backdrops for Hori's play to go on a proper date. Based on the way Sakura's mom would wink at her daughter whenever he came over, it was safe to say Sakura had told her family about it.

But that didn't make him feel any less nervous as he stood outside the door to Sakura's home, holding a custom-made flower arrangement. After going back and forth between choosing a bundle of cherry blossoms or the classic rose bouquet, he decided to rely upon his own knowledge of flowers to put together a piece that would truly represent his feelings for her.

It consisted of white oleander blooms and light yellow green camellias arranged around a handful of tall white snowdrop flowers punctuated by stalks of Queen Anne's lace and surrounded by boughs of mistletoe with white berries, coming together to express a theme of leaving the past in the past to catch the dream of beauty before you. Of course, since flowers weren't exactly Sakura's specialty, the meaning might be lost on her, but that didn't matter. Many of these flowers would normally be difficult to obtain in Japan during the winter season, but thankfully, Mikoto had a few friends that worked in botany and floriculture labs that allowed him to come him and take a few blooms home.

But now, the turning point in his relationship with Sakura had arrived. Mikoto rapped his knuckles on her door, nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He worried for a moment that the slacks and the dress shirt he was wearing were too fancy for their date, but it was too late to change now.

When the door slowly opened, Mikoto inhaled sharply and extended the bouquet out only to see that it was Sakura's mother answering the door.

"H-Hello!"

"Oh, Mikoto-kun, you look ravishing! Sakura will be out in a minute, I just didn't want you to be waiting out there in the cold! Want some tea? I just brewed a pot!" Mikoto opened his mouth to respond but found that he was too anxious to speak, so he just shook his head. "Dear, I know you're trying to hide it, but I know you got a case of the nerves right now. I really think having a cup of tea will relax you."

"O-O-Okay," he croaked.

"And my goodness, those flowers are beautiful! How long did you have to look to find a florist that sells something like that?"

"Actually, I made them myself."

"Really? That's amazing! I'll tell Sakura that you're a keeper!" Sakura's mother brought over a mug filled with green tea and handed it to him.

"Did you know that Japanese scientists were the first to discover what makes green tea so calming? It's a chemical called L-theanine."

"O-Oh." Mikoto took a sip of tea. Then another. And another. "This might be the best cup of tea I've ever had."

"I'm so glad you think so! I love making custom blends to maximize the medicinal properties of tea!" Seeing that Mikoto was becoming more visibly relaxed after drinking the tea, she continued to talk so that he could keep drinking from his cup. "So, of course I added a little extra matcha in this blend, but since it's not harvesting season, it's certainly not the best quality. You should come by around May! If you think it tastes good now, you haven't experienced anything yet!"

Mikoto knew the tea couldn't possibly be acting this fast, but he was already beginning to feel more at ease… Until Sakura emerged from her bedroom wearing a long-sleeve red dress with a black ribbon sash and sheer black tights and a pair of small black heels. Her orange hair cascaded around her face in loose curls, and her features were accented by a shimmering nude eye shadow and a soft pink lip gloss.

"Wow." Realizing that he had exclaimed in surprise out loud, Mikoto furtively glanced between Sakura and her mother. "I- I mean…"

Sakura's mother laughed. "Guess I'll leave you two at it. Have fun tonight! Be safe!"

Mikoto bowed, still stammering.

"So sorry about running behind! I hope she didn't talk your ear off about tea. It's become her latest hobby."

Mikoto sat the cup of tea down and collected his thoughts. "The wait was worth it. You're beautiful." He murmured, offering her the flowers.

"Mikorin, oh my God, these are gorgeous! Thank you so much! I don't want to make us any later, but I have to put these in my room!" She hurriedly filled a vase with water and ran back into her room with the flowers, giggling all the way. When she returned from her bedroom, she ran up to Mikoto and gave him a hug. "I'm so excited for the dinner and play tonight, you have no idea!" She continued gushing as they made their way down to the train station. "I've been wanting to try out that Kyoto-style restaurant for months, and now they serve cheap kaiseki? It's going to be so good! And then the play of course! We're going to have to keep our eyes on Hiro-kun to make sure he doesn't fall asleep when Seo-chan sings! That was so nice of Hori-san to get us such good seats for free! I mean, this is winter break, and it's not like they're expecting a sellout, but still! The money they earn from their play will go into the drama club's funding, so it's still a significant gesture. But wow, it will be amazing!" Mikoto chuckled when she squealed in anticipation as they took their seats on the train.

"Well… you do know that Nozaki-san will be there too, right?"

"Yeah. That's fine. I don't think he'll be awkward about seeing us on a date. I mean, he's always kinda awkward, but you know what I mean."

"Okay. I just don't want to put you in a situation that would make you uncomfortable."

"See, that kind of consideration is why I'm here with you instead of Nozaki-san tonight." Sakura kissed his cheek, the gloss leaving a stickiness that Mikoto didn't want to wash away. "But enough about him! Tell me about how you finally set up your neighbor Hiroshi with Akemi!"

After managing to get through dinner without turning into a blubbering mess (though he did come close when a few servers cooed over the couple), Mikoto and Sakura walked through the campus of Roman Academy to the school's theater, arms linked together.

"By the way, Mikorin, I don't think I've told you how handsome you look tonight yet."

"Thank you. I honestly wasn't sure how nice to dress."

"Me neither! But I figured a date would be a good excuse to wear my new heels. At least now, I'm only a few centimeters shorter than you."

"I think it's a bit more than just a 'few.' "

"Sakura! Mikoto!" Wakamatsu appeared at the entrance to the theater and ran forward to greet them, bowing vigorously. "Thank you so much for coming to see Seo-san perform! It means a lot to her, even if she doesn't quite phrase it like that."

"Well, of course! She's my best friend, I want to cheer her on!"

"Follow me, I'll show you to our seats!" Then with a sweet smile typical of Wakamatsu, he added with pride, "I'm a volunteer usher tonight!" The definition of Wakamatsu's muscles could be seen as he waved for them to follow. Mikoto trailed behind Sakura, glancing at his own arm and frowning. He needed to start going to the gym more often. When they walked into the small auditorium where the play was to be performed at, Mikoto's attention was drawn immediately to Nozaki, who stuck out like a sore thumb due to his tall stature. As the group approached him, Mikoto mentally chastised himself. _Stop being so nervous! You're an adult. They broke up a month ago. Just act natural._

"Yo, N-Nozaki! It's been, uh, a while." _Damn it!_

"Yo!" Nozaki waved and smiled, completely oblivious to the tension that was threatening to swallow up Mikoto. "Hey, Sakura!"

"Hello, Nozaki! How are you?"

"I've been better. The higher-ups gave me a couple a tough deadlines to meet." Then he clenched his fist and grinned. "But Ken-san promised to help! I know he'll come through!" After glancing between the two, he continued talking. "You and Mikoto are dressed up nice though. What's the occasion?"

Sakura grabbed Mikoto's hand and stepped forward. "We're on a _date_."

"Oh, nice! I hope you guys have fun."

Mikoto missed the entire exchange, absorbed in how his hand was now holding Sakura's. Nozaki shot him an analytical look, and Sakura rolled her eyes. Mikoto still had not realized that he was the inspiration for the excitable heroine of _Let's Fall in Love_.

After making conversation for a few minutes, the lights dimmed, and Wakamatsu quickly joined them. "You guys will love this! I cried twice during rehearsal yesterday."

"Good thing I brought some tissues for you, Mikorin!"

"Shut up, I-" A few audience members hushed him, and he huffed. Sakura struggled to contain her laughter.

But Wakamatsu was right, the play was absolutely moving. Seo played the role of a struggling actress in Postwar Japan named Mizuno Kazumi who longed to leave her hometown and become a famous shingeki star. However, a vicious assault by an Allied soldier left her feeling broken and resistant to further breakdown of Japanese traditions until a childhood friend convinced her to find a way to move on and balance between the conflicting cultures in Japan, to face the future with hope but to not forget the past.

When the play ended, Sakura was the first to jump out of her seat to give a standing ovation. Mikoto and Wakamatsu were still struggling to regain their composure (which had been made more difficult when all of Sakura's tissues had been used up by the group by the intermission), but poor Wakamatsu had to crawl to the auditorium's entrance to resume his duties as an usher with tears still running down his face.

"Wasn't that amazing?" Sakura asked as they filed out of the theater. "It's amazing to think that it was written by a group of university students! With a few more tweaks and a higher budget, they could have a masterpiece on their hands!"

"Yeah, I loved it too! I didn't realize Seo-chan was capable of that… emotional range. But hey, not a bad first date if I say so myself!"

After spending much time congratulating Seo, Hori, and the other actors, Mikoto and Sakura walked aimlessly around the campus for a while chatting about school memories, hand in hand, until an idea for the perfect way to end their date formed in Mikoto's mind.

"Hey, I want to show you something. But you got to keep your eyes closed, okay?"

"How am I supposed to walk around in these shoes with my eyes closed?"

"C'mon, don't you trust me?"

"No!" Sakura answered, giggling.

"Guess I have no other choice."

"What do you- HEY!" Sakura shrieked as Mikoto hoisted her over his shoulder (envious of Wakamatsu's muscles again for a brief moment) and carried her to a part of the campus hidden away by a few tall trees. When Mikoto set her down, Sakura recognized it as the grove where Mikoto almost kissed her.

"You probably messed up my hair, y'know."

Mikoto shook his head. The shafts of moonlight peeking through the cluster of barren trees illuminated her face, adding a dreamlike milky glow to her skin. "I told you before, I have never thought for even a second that you aren't beautiful."

"You're beautiful too, Mikoto."

Mikoto pressed his forehead to hers, then whispered in her ear, "How about I finish what I started?"

"Please do."

He felt no nervousness or apprehension of any kind as he pulled her into an embrace, pressing his lips against hers. She immediately melted into him, grabbing his shirt tightly and parting her lips as an invitation for a deeper kiss. He obliged without hesitation. It was clumsy and desperate yet passionate and wonderful, but they finally pulled away from each other for breath, a thin trail of saliva still connecting their mouths. Sakura seemed completely lost in giddiness, and Mikoto imagined he probably looked the same. "You're a good kisser," Mikoto panted.

"Did you have to ruin the moment?"

"I just had to say it. And… it sounds cliché, but… I've never felt this way before. Normally, I'd be embarrassed enough to make a run for the hills, but… right now, I just want more of you."

Sakura blushed and looked at her feet. "I'm glad I gave us a try. I like 'us' ."

"Yeah. I like 'us' too."

"As much as I want to stay here with you, we don't want to keep my mom up all night worrying about us."

Mikoto nodded, and they left the grove together. He thought about how back then, he had told himself to move on, that Sakura would never look his way. It was scary to think how close he had been at times to giving her up. But in the end, a mishap with Yuu led to the realization of what had once been just a fantasy. As phenomenal as this night had been, he couldn't wait to go on even more _dates_.

 **Postscript:** I'm honestly still not feeling satisfied with the quality here, but like the last chapter, there were a lot of events I wanted to cover, and also like the last chapter, as rushed as it felt, it's still easily one of the longer chapters. Also, I used the Universe of Symbolism website as a reference for flower meanings. I wrote Mikoto acting a bit more flustered in speech than usual because in my mind, he's now dropping the playboy façade and learning to handle uncomfortable situations as himself. I had a really hard time researching Japanese dating customs because Google kept directing me to websites that were either about calendars in Japanese or Americans dating Japanese people. I honestly don't know if Japanese people give each other flowers on dates, but I guess it's rare in the United States too to give someone a flower on the first date. Or French Kiss for that matter. The play is supposed to be both a literal and figurative depiction of the challenges Postwar Japan faced, but obviously, I'm far from an expert on these issues, so let me know if I something I wrote was ignorant.


End file.
